Share & Care Community Services Group Inc Policy and Procedure Manual

Share & Care Community Services Group Inc Policy and Procedure Manual

Policy Consumer Abuse

Date Effective July 2001

Date Renewed June 2007

WHAT IS ABUSE?

Abuse is the willful harm caused to a consumer by another person with whom they have a relationship implying trust and may take the following forms:

Physical abuse

Psychological

Financial abuse

Sexual abuse

Neglect

Exerting undue and/or unwarranted pressure on the Client, such as election preferences, purchases, religious affiliations or any other manipulative influence.

Spiritual abuse

Neglect

Some Groups are more at risk of abuse than others, including:

CALD SENIORS - at risk for a range of reasons including:

• poor English skills, particularly in relation to understanding official documents;

• social isolation and dependency on family members;

• unwillingness to disclose mistreatment or neglect because of social stigma; and

• cross-generational factors resulting in differing expectations of care and support.

ABORIGINAL ELDERS – at risk for a range of reasons including:

• high levels of poverty and dependency on family members

• unemployment

• economics – culture of obligated sharing

• health and

• social disadvantage

• Loss of respect for elders in the culture

THOSE WITH A DECISION MAKING DISABILITY - According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 65,000 Western Australian citizens (approximately 3% of the State’s population) are estimated to be limited in their capacity to make reasoned decisions in their own best interests.

They may have:

• dementia (due to Alzheimer’s Disease or other related disorder );

• a psychiatric condition;

• an intellectual disability; or

• an acquired brain injury due to illness, accident or other trauma.

Who is responsible for investigating abuse?

Staff is only to take details, notations and bring to the attention of their Program Manager, who will immediately notify the CEO.

Share & Care do not investigate any allegations past ensuring safety for the client and then refer on to the appropriate agency such as the Police, Public Advocate, Department of Child Protection or Advocare.

RESPONDING TO ABUSE

Reports of suspected abuse or requests for help may be made by staff, other service providers, seniors or their family, friends or neighbours.

All concerns must be passed on to the Program Manager immediately and should not be discussed with anyone else. The issue is then immediately referred to the CEO. An immediate assessment will be made about whether the issue is an emergency, urgent or non-urgent.

Unless it is considered to be an emergency, the issue is to be discussed with the Chief Executive Officer before taking any further steps.

RIGHTS OF THE CONSUMER

In the assessment it should be determined whether the person is competent (capable of making decisions and understanding what is happening).

People have the right to self – determination and autonomy, including the right to refuse help. However, should the Program Manager and the Chief Executive Officer believe the person to be in imminent danger of serious or irreversible harm; they may decide to intervene, even against the wishes of the client.

IF THE CARER DISCLOSES THE ABUSE

Admission of abuse may be a cry for help from the Carer who can no longer cope.

Appropriate supports should be offered immediately to the Carer to reduce the likelihood of offending. If appropriate, referral should be made to the police.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Strict confidentiality must be maintained. The issue should not be discussed with other staff members or anyone outside the organisation except for the purposes of making a referral (if possible with the consumer’s consent.)

DOCUMENTATION

The agency record of a case is a legal document and should be accurate and detailed, Records should be dated and signed by the Program Manager and should include the following information:

Date and time of call

Name, address, phone number of caller

Name, address phone number of consumer at risk

Relationship of the caller to the Consumer and/or Carer

Whether or not Consumer and/or Carer are aware of the request for help

Details of what happened, when, how often, by whom

Details of all actions already taken to alleviate the situation

Immediate needs of the Consumer and their Carer

In the case of an emergency, who will stay with the consumer until help is available?

Has anyone else been notified of the possible abuse?

The involvement, if any, of other agencies (e.g. ACAT, Public Guardian, Community

Nurses, Social Workers, Doctors, Police, Advocare

Details of immediate action taken by agency staff, or referral to other agencies

Referral of the case to a specific community worker/agency team forongoing documentation of assessment, case plan, interventions and outcomes

This ORIGINAL document is to be immediately forwarded to the CEO

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Consumer